From the very start of his remarks, Ernst Saint Louis made a point of thanking Frantz Duval, editor-in-chief of Le Nouvelliste and director of Magik 9, who had come to obtain a crucial clarification regarding the date of birth of the author of Memoirs of a Sea Creature. “The MCC had written officially to René Depestre, and he replied with a handwritten letter, which is exceptional,” stressed Mr. Saint Louis. In this letter, Depestre stated that he now considered himself a “Franco-Haitian” writer, due to his long residence in France where he was naturalized. He also confirmed that he was born in 1924, and not 1926, thus clearing up a persistent ambiguity found in several biographical documents.

A national and international celebration

After the centenary of Odette Roy Fombrun, celebrated during her lifetime, Haiti is once again preparing to honor a major figure of its intellectual and cultural heritage. “This is one of the rare opportunities to celebrate a personality who carried Haiti’s name high across the world, especially through literature,” said Ernst Saint Louis.